Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar reckons that if Rohit Sharma becomes a successful Test opener, he will help Team India to chase down targets they haven’t achieved in the past. Rohit, who is a regular opener for Team India in the ODIs and T20Is, and now he has been included in the 15-man squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa which is scheduled to commence on October 2.

KL Rahul, who had been a permanent member of the Indian team as an opener, has been dropped owing to his poor form. In the two-match Test series against the West Indies, he managed scores of 44, 38, 13 and 6 and didn’t seem to be in any sort of form. His last 50+ score since his 149 against England at the Oval came to some 12 innings back. His poor form has given an opportunity for Rohit, who has been for long waiting for his chance to come good in red-ball cricket as well.

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During a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo, Bangar said, “At the moment, there is no place in the settled middle order in the Test team. The opening will be a new challenge for him since he has rarely done it in the longer formats. But the advantage is that he will get to bat against a hardball with plenty of gaps in the field. He will also not have to wait for his turn to bat, which will save his mental energy. If he succeeds, his style of play will be extremely helpful to the team. It might result in being able to successfully chase down targets that we haven’t achieved in the past, like in Cape Town and Edgbaston.”

Considered as one of the best batsmen in modern-day cricket, Rohit has not been able to cement his place in the Test side. He has played 27 Tests so far, in which he has scored 1585 runs at an average of 39.6. The swashbuckling opener, who has three double-centuries to his name in ODIs, has been able to hit just three centuries in red-ball cricket.

However, the upcoming series against the Proteas provides him with the opportunity to make an impact and permanently cement his place in Test cricket as well. And in order to be successful for that, Bangar reckons Rohit needs to maintain his unique playing style.

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Bangar also feels that Rohit will be successful in the longest format if he manages to maintain his individual style of play. The first Test against South Africa will be played in Visakhapatnam from October 2 before the teams travel to Pune for the second Test from October 10. The final match of the series will be played in Ranchi from October 19.